I don't even have to watch this video to know Full Metal Alchemist is your favorite anime of all time Hope. It's a pretty great show. unfortunately I haven't watched more than a few episodes, I guess now I'll have to get back into it.

Nothing makes me happier about this review than the fact that you went with my favorite opening song from the whole series. Good on ya, JO!

And congrats on 50th review! :D I love FMA and the Brotherhood series!

Oh, and...my condolences to you for Witchblade...

Witchblade was a... weird one, but I don't think I'd call it bad....

I kinda liked it...

Witchblade was muy grande terrible. And you know it. We all do. Nothing but an excuse to show lots of scantily clad T and A. The only worse offenders in my book fall down there with Queen's Blade and other such silliness.

While yes, it was full of fanservice, it was also, actually good. Of course if you lose all higher brain function whenever you see boobs I can see how you might not have noticed.

The dub audio's also superior than the original Japanese in that one too.

That said, I do imagine JO will hate it, as I imagine the "fanservice" will just plain infuriate her. And frankly I can't say I blame her for the gut-reaction she'll have that'll color the entire review.

we sharing the same opinion, Furluge.

I don't know about some morons (like you, maybe?) but I don't go gaga for boobies. Yes, they are nice. But, they don't drive my brain to the back of my head when I see them.

Witchblade was crap. Plain and simple.

The plot was a mess. The leading man was a jackass who saw her as property from the start and she falls for him, god knows why. Yes, they try and redeem him a bit, but it was forced. The main heroine was weak in more ways than one. The villains lacked real motive besides the usual stereotype machinations. And the ending, oh the ending. Just terrible.

So, where was this good?

Fanservice is fine in my book. It has it's place here and there. Whatever, we move on. But it should not dominate over half your series, or 80% in the case of Witchblade.

Personally I mainly enjoyed the way the characters changed over time, the gradual discovery of what the events that happened in the last quake were, what caused them, and how they relate to what's current happening in the plot, and I also rather enjoyed the ending.

Unfortunately it's been a little over a year since I watched the series, so I can't argue finer plot points for you, but I don't remember the plot being a "mess" as you call it. Like I said, it's good, not the best, but good. I've certainly seen much worse before or since.

Happy 50th JO! I like FMA, Brotherhood, and the manga

and sorry Lupa, Inuyasha is kinda lame...

I would have suggested Ah My Goddess too...because I love it.

So informative and analytical, just the way I like it.
And wow, you barely mentioned ANY downsides to this series. That also really illustrates how solid the series is.

(Poor J-dub. Maybe someday you guys WILL do a Ranma 1/2 crossover!)

Finally, Congratulations!

I want popcorn!

I actually do like Anime more than Manga, but I rather watch Brotherhood. But just a little more, I think they are both awesome!

FMA ah. I have said I like up till the end for original. I do like brotherhood better. Love the cameos as always. Marzgurl just going through every anime that has been released in us. Poor Nash but he didn't say Robotech right. I agree with Lupa Inuyasha rocks man and I wish Viz would put the final act on dvd or even adult swim air it already. Poor owen citizen style traumatized by Utena movie.
Congratulations on 50.
Witchblade? Actually I don't hate it. Though the ending sort of sucks but really has to do with a change from the comic to the anime that I didn't like.
Oh yeah Ranma 1/2? JewWario seems to love Ranma 1/2 and hey it's awesome series. I rewatch some of the early episodes recently and still rocks.

for me, both are complementary, in the sense that
each brings something to the ecuation.

my favorite anime of all time =
Fullmetal Alchemist + FMA Brotherhood

I'll drink to that.

I loved the Fullmetal Alchemist anime!

I have only seen it on Adult Swim back in my hellish college days but to me it was better than nothing at all.

Scar was one my many anime male crushes XD

However, I wasn't really as interested in "FMA: Brotherhood" than I was in the original anime. But to each thier own.

Well this was my first video of hers and it was a great review. The commentary was funny and the review itself a great analysis of a stunning cinematic masterpiece. I certainly will be watching more of your reviews.

I loved Fullmetal Alchemist. But I still need to see Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Well done as always my lady.

Congrats on 50 reviews JO!

I've never seen Brotherhood, though I have read about the last 1/4 of the manga, and I think that the ending is a lot more epic in scope than the 2003 anime, though the latter does wrap up things a bit better. I'd say they're both great and leave it there, but of course, the internet must dedicate its time to debating these things...

Congrats on the 50th review. I read the last third of the manga to catch up to the series. I love both brotherhood and the original FMA. But for different reasons.

i prefer watching anime than reading manga...and i prefer Brotherhood O_o

Lets not have the comments devolve into a Brotherhood vs FMA debate. Please. Save that for the video she's going to do later.

I agree with everything you said about FMA. And I don't like Brotherhood, either. I dislike it for the same reason I could never like Inuyasha or Bleach, namely it is just too damn long! I watched the first 30-40 episodes of Brotherhood and just had this feeling of, "Will this EVER end?" I love anime stories that have a definite beginning, middle, and end. FMA had that natural story arc, whereas Brotherhood simply didn't.

Avoid Detective Konan, Hunter x Hunter, & Slayers then, because they go on & on.

Man, this brings back memories. Has it really been .. eight or nine years since I first saw FMA?

This and the Digimon Tamers retrospective (the only Digimon series I've ever seen, oddly enough) have really hit some serious nostalgia for me -- good job, with both of them.

My personal feelings about the first FMA anime was that it was an above average anime that could have one episode follow the tender relationships between brothers and the next have some episode where Al pretends to be a haunted suit of armor. On a scale between 1-10, I would give it an 8, it's probably one of Bone's best work but it also lags behind other shows of its era like Gundam Seed, and OHSHC.

The FMA manga is easily my favorite manga(this is most likely why people think I hate the first FMA anime), because Arakawa combines her entire world view into it. It's sharply written (just compare the first two chapters to the last chapter), and is one of the best examples about how planning ahead can make it so that you can re-read it and discover important bits of foreshadowing (the scene where you see Selim Bradley complaining about wanting to go outside is the best example).

I also believed that the series could have been improved by giving it 64 episodes because I thought the last third was really rushed. In particular Hohenheim is given little screen time, as his past with Dante is given only 2 minutes of exploration, and his past with Envy isn't really given time at all. The only meaningful scene about their relationship is in the movie where Hohenheim feels regret for his actions with Envy.

I will also state my favorite episode was the homage to Lupin the third mainly because I just found the whole thing hilarious.

That's funny, the Lupin episode was my *least* favorite episode of the series. XD Actually, it was probably the only episode I really didn't like at all, just because it doesn't feel like it fits in the same world with the other series episodes, buffoonizes Ed and Al to a degree that's almost against their characters, and is the only filler episode to not add ANYthing to the story except "And then they went to Xenotime." It is THE most filler-y filler episode. XD

Ed and Al could always be a buffoon it's just that the Lu[pin episode had them act like that for the entire episode. I don't consider it to be all that different from the military episode where Mustang and his men come off as idiots as well.

to be truthful the Entire last ark just felt like filler to me even if the beyond the gate part gave me a bit of a grin ^^
But the brotherhoods end felt pretty solid in story. not to say that the first FMA was complexity worse it just went down hill compared to FMAB... in my opinion at least...It was a bit better around the mid-beginning ish part.

This was a fantastic Review, you put into words just how wonder the Series is.

Honestly there's so much to love about it, I agree with you completely. I also wish honestly that Brotherhood was not made personally, because then the Fans of it would have the Manga which is essentially the same thing, without the unnecessary rift in the Fan Base. But hey, everybody enjoys different things I guess. I used to like it enough, till it got... really apparent that it was not going anywhere. XD

For me I think Brotherhood forgot that the Brothers were the focus of the story, and that the whole point was to show that there is no perfection in life, the happy ending you get is NOT exactly what you wanted, but life doesn't work that way and we still manage to be content with it. Brotherhood's ending is... well, a little too Disney in my opinion for lack of a better word. lol But hey, to each their own.

You're very intelligent too that's very obvious in the way you review and address even the minor of details, it makes us appreciate your work all the more! Great Review. ^^

There was already a rift between fans of the manga, and fans of the anime. As for the ending I see nothing wrong with having a happy ending. Cynicism should not be confused with realism. We shouldn't be teaching the next generation that happy endings don't exist because they do.

Yeah I'm one of those guys that likes brotherhood more but I do understand the reasons of people loving the original anime. Hell it's because of the original anime that brotherhood has a good majority of it's fans.

the only thing i have to say about fullmetal is that unlike most anime that fallow and meet ther manga counterparts and decided to mack the show into filler hell it ended whit its own ending for the fist series and was just as much wotrth the watch as the second and any sieris in my opinion that is not 80+ episodes is a win

-HEY THERE :D

-FUCK!

LMAO genius

WOW, YES, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST IS MY FAV ANIME TO BUT YOU PUT WHY ITS AMAZING INTO WORDS SO MUCH BETTER THEN I EVER COULD, P.S. WHATS UR FAV FMA OR FMA BREOTHERHOOD?

Lol, oh yes, I loved the megacrossover.

You & I have contrasting tastes in anime. The art style bugged me constantly, Winry was annoying, Alphonse had annoying voices, Edward's voice grates on my nerves, Envy sounds like a 60 year old woman, the homunculi or flesh golum angle was common in 80s senen animes, my three favorite characters were killed off pretty early, & when the series was over, it didn't leave me with much of an impression. But hey, nothing can be liked or hated by all, nothing.

But I will rewatch it someday, subbed; sometimes nostalgia goggles are crushed, sometimes it's still good or still awful, & sometimes you see something you didn't see before, because taste changes with age.

I like it when animes diverge from the mangas, since I watch & read in equal amounts. It's even better when they diverge greatly; it gives either an additional continuity or a parallel universe of adventures you can't get from the manga. I liked the Hellsing anime & disliked the manga, so I didn't care for the reboot & if Excel Saga gets a reboot to match it's manga content, I'm not touching it.

Why didn't they just call it "Hagaren" the official Japanese nickname, instead of trying to make it sound like it was related to the Full Metal Panic franchise?

Because Fullmetal Alchemist is the title that Hiromu Arakawa came up with. The original Japanese manga has always had two titles.

It still created a problem with more seasoned anime fans when it came out. The fansub watchers where calling it Hagaren & the dub was the first time any of us had heard the alternate title. Veteran fans bitched about the name similarity to FMP just like the Ninja Scroll fans bitched when Makai Tenshou Jigokuhen was renamed Ninja Resurrection.

No they didn't, no one called it Hagaren I was around the anime community in 2004 (I posted at Anime Nation) so I know what the fans called it.

Ninja Resurrection was called Makai Tensho: Resurrection and was renamed by ADV as Ninja Resurrection: The revenge of Jubei to imply that it was a sequel to Ninja Scroll.

Fullmetal Alchemist was an alternate title that Hiromu Arakawa came up with (most likely to give it a more western feel). You might as well claim that Hiromu Arakawa was trying to imply that it was a prequel to Full Metal Jacket.

In fact the Japanese name for Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is Hagane no Renkinjutsushi FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST which translates to Alchemist of Steel Fullmetal Alchemist

I've been watching anime since 1989 & "Hagaren" was common in Japan. Look up Hagaren in both english & katakana. Hagaren was especially common among fans of the manga prior to the anime being made.

I am not talking about in Japan! Hagaren was never common in the english speaking FMA universe. It's occasionally used but never to a significant degree.

The first closing credit sequence features a set of steel gates with the words FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST on top of them. It's not difficult to find.

FMA has a special place in my heart because it was the only one I saw in it's entirety with a family member. I'd Tevo the four episodes that aired every week then watch it over the weekend with my dad. We both agree that it is one of the best shows (not just anime) ever written made that much more special because I was seeing it with someone I loved. Plus he's as much of an uber nerd as I am so we used to argue about how the plot would go, or just geek out together. Even though he has not watched any anime since, his favorite character in televised fiction is still Al.

Please do a Brotherhood vs. FMA Original review. I just finished Brotherhood and would like to see the comparisons brought forth in a more concise analysis than from what I'd surmise. Personally I think FMA original is faaaaaar superior for a variety of reasons but if I start ranting I'll be here all day.

Well I seen both series and I must say I perfer brotherhood just since it was the first series I seen.

Great review!

I loved the FMA series. I haven't seen Brotherhood, but I have been a big fan of the manga. I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed BOTH the manga and anime, since with most series I only like one or the other.

I sway more to the brothrhood/manga side, I didn't like the AU ending concept of the first series very much. Other than that they are about equal to me. It says something that when watching brotherhood I actually missed some of the 03 anime original characters. The perfect series imo, would be brotherhood but with the original anime's filler tweaked and added in to the middle somehow.

Something you didn't mention but I found exceptional, the music. BOTH series I liked almost all the songs for. I actually bought the entire CD with ready steady go on it back years ago. That is the only anime I can say that about and it applies to both versions of the show.

While I love FMA Brotherhood alot more because of the higher production cost, the more constant story and yes even the somewhat predictable ending that worked for the series I can understand your love for the 2003 version. My only problem is comparably if you try to figure out some plot threats it really makes no sense.

Like Dante collecting all the Hoculi how did she know that Ed was going to do the experiment. Second all of the hoculi represent there sins well in the second version better then the first.

I wouldn't be surprised if Marzgurl just pulled that list of anime off of the D2 forums.

She's probably still reading the list to herself as we speak.

The order she was going she probably just read it off ANN, though I also want JO to review a lot of those series mentioned especially Angel Beats.

Great review with awesome cameos!

If nobody doesn't know already, MOST of the first anime series is filler, and Brotherhood definitely has an overlying plot line that gets tied together much more nicely in the end having almost no inconsistencies, if any. Now regarding the fullmetal alchemist brotherhood movie, the character designs are the only ugly part in the animation, the animation during action scenes is by far some of the best I have ever seen. But keep in mind that the plot is just recycled from the anime series. I was so suprised at the lack of information (or just lack of straight forward communication) that I FINALLY made an account on here to post this comment....All of what I have said is pretty true and I have cleared up some misunderstandings or mistold information from what I have seen both in the video and the comments, any questions? feel free to ask. Decent review though!

It would only be considered filler by the strict definition of "not in the original manga" the only thing I would consider filler would be the episode with Majhal, the Lupin the third episode, the episode where Al pretends to be a haunted suit of armor, the episode in Rush Valley while found in the manga could also be considered filler simply because the important things that happen in the manga where moved to earlier in the story, the episode with Lujon was pretty much entirely filler (though references to Lust past is seen).

So I think you could probably consider about 6-7 episodes of the first series actual filler.